NASON Msoni says Zambia is undergoing a social “menopause” where nothing is moving and working for the vast majority.
He says the PF and President Edgar Lungu should realise that what is at stake for Zambia is far greater than just an individual’s insatiable appetite and political ambition.
Msoni, the All People’s Congress (APC) president, criticised relentless pursuit of political power for the sake of it.
“The country is undergoing a social menopause where nothing is moving and working for the vast majority of the people. Youth unemployment has reached emergency levels requiring a quick solution,” Msoni said in an interview. “The ever rising high cost of living is driving the majority of our people into abject poverty and destitution.”
He charged that the fact that PF leaders had mercilessly looted State coffers with impunity did not necessarily mean that everyone was able to sustain themselves, given the prevailing harsh economic situation.
Msoni also pointed out that the PF, without President Lungu, was rendered moribund and extremely vulnerable.
“But we must respect what the Constitution says. It is absolutely wrong for the PF to attempt to bulldoze their way into government through the sponsorship of a candidate who is clearly barred by the Constitution,” Msoni said. “And yes, we agree that without President Lungu on the ballot, the PF risks losing political power. But that’s entirely their own political misfortune.”
He added that there was no dispute that the PF was extremely vulnerable in the forthcoming elections.
“But the choice cannot be to recycle a candidate who is constitutionally barred,” he argued.
“There is also a moral dimension to all this; for a person who swore to protect and defend the Constitution and then should he start to dismember and cannibalise the very document he swore to protect and defend!”
He wondered whether circumventing the Constitution, in order to illegally contest an election, was actually protecting and defending the document.
“And after circumventing the Constitution, should the person swear to defend the same Constitution?” Msoni asked. “Zambians, let us get more serious with the governance of our country. Leaving Zambia in the hands of criminals will certainly leave all of us bruised and abused.”
He further noted that the collective tragic failure of Zambians would be to vote back into office a political party that had clearly shown no interest or concern for the welfare of the people.
Msoni said no sane government in the world could procure expired drugs for its own citizens and allow perpetrators to go unpunished.
He regretted the high level corruption in the PF government that: “has become a daily feature and the modus operandi of running government.”
“Extravagance and the willful looting of public resources with impunity is going unabated and is encouraged and tolerated by those who ordinarily have the power to stop it,” Msoni complained.
“We are in a very serious moral dilemma and it couldn’t get any worse than this. We are all victims of a bad government and we must urgently reach out to all our citizens and make a case for regime change.”
He also indicated that it was absolutely depressing that the very victims of a bad government were, in fact, the very ones in the forefront cheering for looters with clinched fists raised in solidarity with the criminals.